Chapter 102: Chapter 102 - The Mortal Purge Biomes and the Cursed Rewards
During the following days, Su Bai began visiting one biome each day.
He did not stay long in every place. Some places suited him. Some places did not.
The first and best place for him remained the Lotus-Rot Poison Marsh. There was no doubt about that.
If Su Bai had to choose one place to cultivate for the rest of his time in the Ancestral Sanctum, it would be that marsh.
After the Lotus-Rot Poison Marsh, Su Bai went to the Heaven-Strike Lightning Zones.
Su Bai stood at the entrance and looked at the warning tablet.
[Heaven-Strike Lightning Zones. Those with unstable souls should not enter.]
Su Bai thought for a moment, then he stepped in.
A bolt of lightning struck him almost immediately.
Su Bai’s body stiffened. His hair nearly stood up.
The pain was real.
This was different from poison. Poison could enter quietly, reverse, and become nourishment.
Lightning was more direct. It struck first and discussed benefits later.
Su Bai gritted his teeth.
Fortunately, his body had already undergone the first stage of body refinement. Otherwise, this strike alone might have knocked him flat.
The lightning Qi entered his body and rushed toward his meridians and soul.
Then the soul-damaging force reversed into soul tempering. The paralyzing lightning reversed into hyperactive nerve response.
Su Bai stood there for a while, smoke rising faintly from his robe.
Then his eyes brightened.
This place was good. Painful, but good.
If the Lotus-Rot Poison Marsh was suitable for cultivation, then the Heaven-Strike Lightning Zones were suitable for tempering his reaction speed and soul.
More importantly, this could help him prepare for the future.
When he reached Golden Core, he would have to face lightning tribulation.
So he stayed for a while. Long enough to confirm the effect and sign in.
[Ding! Signed in at Ancestral Sanctum (Heaven-Strike Lightning Zones)]
[Reward: Tribulation Lightning Bead.]
[Description: A bead condensed from violent tribulation lightning. When held, it releases aggressive lightning Qi that invades the meridians, locks the body, and causes full-body paralysis.]
Su Bai summoned the bead from his storage.
It was small, purple, and crackling. Tiny arcs of lightning crawled over its surface like impatient snakes.
Su Bai nodded with satisfaction.
He placed it carefully into his system inventory.
The second useful biome had been found.
...
After that, Su Bai went to the Ancestors’ Sword-Scar Cliffs.
The Sword-Scar Cliffs were different from the inheritance walls. These cliffs contained pressure.
The moment Su Bai approached, his spirit felt as if invisible blades had turned toward him.
Su Bai stood beneath the cliffs.
The sword intent descended. It tried to cut into his mind.
His Reversal Body moved.
The shredding pressure softened. The killing intent turned inward, then settled.
Instead of panic, Su Bai felt calm.
Su Bai blinked.
This place was also useful too.
After signing in, the system gave him a reward.
[Ding! Signed in at Ancestral Sanctum (Ancestors’ Sword-Scar Cliffs)]
[Reward: Blood-Soaked Sword Shard.]
[Description: A sword shard soaked in ancient battlefield blood and killing intent. Holding it allows the spiritual killing intent to invade the mind, inducing fear, panic, and battle confusion.]
Su Bai held the shard for a breath.
The killing intent rushed at his mind. Then reversed.
His thoughts became peaceful. His breathing became even. His heart settled.
Su Bai looked at the blood-red shard.
Then he silently placed it into his system inventory.
This was not a weapon. This was a calming object.
If ordinary cultivators knew that he intended to use an ancient blood-soaked sword shard to relax, they might question the fairness of heaven.
...
On the next day, he entered the Black-Ice Regions.
The further Su Bai walked, the paler the world became.
Black ice grew from the ground like jagged teeth. The air was filled with white mist so cold that each breath seemed to scrape the throat.
Even with the Glacier-Lung Bone Mask, Su Bai could feel the cold outside his body.
The Black-Ice Regions threatened to freeze blood from within.
When the cold Qi invaded his meridians, the effect reversed.
His blood did not freeze. Instead, his circulation became smoother and more vigorous. Warmth spread through his veins, not hot like fire, but steady like an internal furnace.
Su Bai stood in the ice field and exhaled.
This place was useful too.
But he still did not like standing in a frozen wasteland for too long.
The benefits were internal.
The outside was still uncomfortable.
He signed in and left after confirming the effect.
[Ding! Signed in at Ancestral Sanctum (Black-Ice Regions)]
[Reward: Frost-Marrow Elixir.]
[Description: A cold-path elixir that invades the meridians and violently freezes the blood flow from within. Ordinary cultivators who consume it without preparation may suffer frozen meridians, stagnant blood, and organ failure.]
Su Bai accepted it happily.
...
Then came the Nine-Suns Lava Chambers.
The moment he approached, heat rushed toward him like an angry beast.
The entrance was a cavern of red stone. Golden-red cracks spread across the ground, and molten light flowed beneath the surface like rivers of fire trapped under glass.
Inside, nine artificial suns floated above the chamber. They were not real suns, but condensed fire formations. Each one radiated fierce Yang Fire Qi.
The heat pressed on Su Bai’s skin.
His robes felt like they were about to surrender.
Su Bai walked in. Then he walked out.
He stood at the entrance and thought seriously.
This place was not ideal.
The fire Qi that entered his body could reverse into a cooling sensation, yes.
But the external heat still roasted his skin and clothing before enough of the benefit could matter.
Su Bai was not a true body-refining cultivator.
He had reached Body Refinement Stage One mostly because of the Void-Sunflower Method’s side effect.
There was a difference between tempering the body and placing oneself inside a furnace while hoping for good news.
Still, he signed in.
[Ding! Signed in at Ancestral Sanctum (Nine-Suns Lava Chambers)]
[Reward: Fire-Venom Ember.]
[Description: An ember condensed from poisonous fire Qi. When held, it releases aggressive Fire Qi that tries to invade and incinerate the internal organs.]
Su Bai held the ember briefly.
The internal burning reversed into a refreshing coolness in his chest.
His lungs felt clear. His breathing felt light.
Su Bai nodded.
The item was good. The location was less good.
...
The next place was the Astral Wind Corridors.
The corridor looked beautiful from afar.
Long bridges of pale stone stretched through the air. Silver-blue wind flowed between them like ribbons.
Then Su Bai stepped in.
A wind blade cut across his sleeve. Another sliced at his shoulder. A third passed near his cheek.
Su Bai immediately understood.
The scenery was lying.
This was not beautiful. This was a knife room with decoration.
The Astral Wind did not simply blow. It cut.
Su Bai stayed just long enough to sign in.
[Ding! Signed in at Ancestral Sanctum (Astral Wind Corridors)]
[Reward: Astral-Breath Powder.]
[Description: A powder condensed from astral wind. When inhaled, it injects Qi-wind blades directly into the lungs, shredding the lung channels and damaging breath circulation.]
Su Bai placed the powder away carefully.
...
Finally, Su Bai visited the Mountain-Crushing Caverns.
This place was beside the Lotus-Rot Poison Marsh, but Su Bai had avoided entering deeply before.
Now, for the sake of completeness, he stepped inside.
The first layer was already heavy. Every step felt as if someone had placed an invisible stone on his shoulders.
The second layer was worse. His bones groaned.
The third layer made his knees bend slightly. The pressure tried to grind his bones and organs.
Su Bai stood there for a few breaths.
Then he turned around.
The Mountain-Crushing Caverns were perfect for body-refining cultivators who had proper methods, proper preparation, proper teachers, and possibly a deep emotional grudge against their own bones.
Su Bai had none of those.
He had body refinement, yes. But he was not truly walking a body cultivation path yet.
He signed in and left.
[Ding! Signed in at Ancestral Sanctum (Mountain-Crushing Caverns)]
[Reward: Earth-Vein Heavy Blood.]
[Description: A cursed drop of earth-vein blood. When absorbed, it places crushing Qi-pressure directly on the heart, bones, and organs, grinding the body from within.]
Su Bai looked at the dark brown drop sealed inside a small crystal bead.
Then he stored it.
...
After finishing the final biome, Su Bai returned to a quiet stone platform between the branching paths.
He sat down, took out his notebook, and began organizing everything.
His brush moved steadily.
[Biomes of the Mortal Purge — Personal Evaluation]
[Lotus-Rot Poison Marshes]
[Reward: Heart-Seed of the Rot-Lotus]
[Use: Spiritual parasite meant to drain lifespan and blood. Reversed effect increased lifespan and vitality. Best cultivation environment so far.]
[Heaven-Strike Lightning Zones]
[Reward: Tribulation Lightning Bead]
[Use: Emits aggressive lightning Qi meant to lock meridians and paralyze the body. Reversed effect improved nerve response and reaction speed.]
[Ancestors’ Sword-Scar Cliffs]
[Reward: Blood-Soaked Sword Shard]
[Use: Radiates spiritual killing intent meant to induce panic and confusion. Reversed effect creates calm focus. Can be kept nearby when mental steadiness is needed.]
[Black-Ice Regions]
[Reward: Frost-Marrow Elixir]
[Use: Freezes meridians and blood flow from within. Reversed effect may improve circulation and internal warmth.]
[Nine-Suns Lava Chambers]
[Reward: Fire-Venom Ember]
[Use: Aggressive fire Qi meant to incinerate internal organs. Reversed effect produces refreshing internal coolness.]
[Astral Wind Corridors]
[Reward: Astral-Breath Powder]
[Use: Qi-wind blades meant to shred lung channels. Reversed effect may expand lung capacity and stamina.]
[Mountain-Crushing Caverns]
[Reward: Earth-Vein Heavy Blood]
[Use: Crushing Qi-pressure meant to grind heart, bones, and organs. Reversed effect may create internal lightness and buoyancy.]
After finishing the list, Su Bai nodded in satisfaction.
This trip had been extremely profitable.
With these items, he was slowly becoming something difficult to explain.
A monster? Possibly.
A good monster? Hopefully.
A polite monster? Definitely.
Su Bai closed the notebook and looked toward the remaining areas of the Ancestral Sanctum.
There were still places he had not visited.
The liquid Qi pools, for example.
He had seen them with his Spirit Sense from afar. The other four disciples seemed to have moved there already. They were bathing in beneficial pools, absorbing pure ancient Qi, and stabilizing their gains.
To ordinary cultivators, those pools were probably supreme blessings.
To Su Bai, they looked terrifying.
Su Bai silently crossed out the liquid Qi pools in his heart..
There were also several other beneficial cultivation areas.
A clear spirit spring. A golden marrow pool. A place where gentle founder blessings flowed like warm rain.
Su Bai avoided all of them.
The other disciples could enjoy such fortune.
He would not compete with them.
After thinking for a moment, Su Bai turned his gaze back toward the Biomes of the Mortal Purge.
He had already signed in at each biome once.
But if he could obtain another set...
Su Bai’s eyes became calm.
Then bright.
There was no need to rush toward the beneficial places.
He could remain near the dangerous ones to cultivate, sign in, and improve his foundation.
Su Bai stood.
His cultivation had continued to climb during these days.
He had already stabilized Foundation Establishment Eighth Stage, and his foundation was growing thicker.
If things continued like this, then by the time he left the Ancestral Sanctum, he might be able to approach the peak of Foundation Establishment.
Perhaps he could even begin preparing to condense his Golden Core.
Su Bai’s gaze deepened slightly.
The Mystic Realm would open soon.
Outside the sect, many people still did not know what kind of person he truly was.
Before he truly showed himself to the wider world, he wanted to be prepared.
Su Bai adjusted the Glacier-Lung Bone Mask.
For now, he would cultivate.
And tomorrow...
He would sign in again.
